The Final Voyage
The Andrea Doria set sail from Genova at midday on July 17, 1956, bound for New York Harbor.
The ship made three stops along the way to Cannes, Naples and Gibraltar. It was half-past midnight on July 20 when the Andrea Doria began to cross the Atlantic to make a scheduled July 26, 6 a.m., arrival at Pier 87 in New York.
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On board were 1,134 passengers, 572 crew members, 401 tons of cargo (including 1,000 Olivetti typewriters and 500 Necchi sewing machines), 522 pieces of baggage, 1,754 bags of mail and nine cars, including the Norseman, a special prototype car that was a joint project of Chrysler and Ghia. The car was valued at more than $100,000.
The Andrea Doria was under the command of 58-year-old Captain Piero Calamai, a decorated skilled skipper who had spent 39 years at sea. Bound for Gothenburg in Sweden, the Stockholm was commanded by 63-year-old Captain Gunnar Nordenson, a veteran of 46 years at sea.
At the moment of the collision, Nordenson was in his cabin and a young third mate, Johan-Ernst Carstens-Johannsen, was in charge of the bridge.
It all happened in matter of minutes. As the popular song "Arrivederci Roma" was playing in the Andrea Doria's first class saloon, a horrified third officer, Eugenio Giannini, cried out, "She is turning, she is turning, she is coming toward us!"
In a split-second decision, Calamai called: "All left!" At 11:11 p.m. the Stockholm's bow, reinforced for ice-breaking in the North Sea, plunged thirty feet into the Doria's starboard side, ripping into it like a can opener.
Radio communications recorded at the time reveal the crew's sudden distress.
At 11:20 p.m., the Andrea Doria called to all stations: "DISTRESS DISTRESS, JUST COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER SHIP. WE ARE LISTING, IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT LIFEBOATS AT SEA."
